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Undark: An Oratorio
"Later we will laugh; shake moonlight
off our clothes like ash.
For now we stare at the clock. The
day wears, tired as mechanism."
--from Undark
An Oratorio is the highly anticipated second collection from Sandy Pool, whose debut book of poetry Exploding into Night (Guernica, 2009) was shortlisted for the Governor General's Award for poetry in 2010.
In the early 1900s, thousands of women between the ages of 11 and 45 were employed painting glow-in-the-dark watch faces in factories across North America. Several years after leaving the plant, the dial painters developed mysterious medical conditions. These included complete necrosis of the jaw, severe anemia, intense arthritic like pains, and spontaneous bone fractures. Though clearly ailing from the use of radium based paint, the women were intentionally misdiagnosed as having syphilis. Many women died in shame before ever receiving compensation.
Sandy Pool's second book, An Oratorio , is equal parts dramatic elegy and poetic inquisition written in seven distinct voices. Drawing from the historical record of the 'radium women' and other instances of historical erasure, the work urges us to engage deeply with questions of time and women's history. The book confronts Bakhtin's notorious What happens to time when history is being erased? What happens when time takes on flesh?
off our clothes like ash.
For now we stare at the clock. The
day wears, tired as mechanism."
--from Undark
An Oratorio is the highly anticipated second collection from Sandy Pool, whose debut book of poetry Exploding into Night (Guernica, 2009) was shortlisted for the Governor General's Award for poetry in 2010.
In the early 1900s, thousands of women between the ages of 11 and 45 were employed painting glow-in-the-dark watch faces in factories across North America. Several years after leaving the plant, the dial painters developed mysterious medical conditions. These included complete necrosis of the jaw, severe anemia, intense arthritic like pains, and spontaneous bone fractures. Though clearly ailing from the use of radium based paint, the women were intentionally misdiagnosed as having syphilis. Many women died in shame before ever receiving compensation.
Sandy Pool's second book, An Oratorio , is equal parts dramatic elegy and poetic inquisition written in seven distinct voices. Drawing from the historical record of the 'radium women' and other instances of historical erasure, the work urges us to engage deeply with questions of time and women's history. The book confronts Bakhtin's notorious What happens to time when history is being erased? What happens when time takes on flesh?
- GenresPoetry
80 pages, Paperback
First published September 15, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
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June 14, 2026I will edit my review once Kaelyn has read. I can't have any type of spoiler, even my rating leaked before she finishes this would be a betrayal.
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November 21, 2012Hey, Everyone! Please check out my latest interview with Canadian poet Sandy Pool as we discuss her second collection of poetry Undark: An Oratorio (Nightwood Editions, 2012). Read it now on my TTQ Blog.http://thetorontoquarterly.blogspot.c...
April 19, 2026
one of those collection of poetry that I wish a had a referrence list to accompany it. I felt there was so much that was talked about that I didn't quite understand.
April 3, 2013
So fantastic! Light and tight and gripping!
March 31, 2017
This is a beautiful book of poetry, that tells an important story in a stunning way. "Undark" tells the story of The Radium Girls - thousands of women who were employed to paint radium dials on watches in the early 1900s, and who suffered from a wide variety of medical conditions because of their radium exposure. While the story of The Radium Girls is the most prominent, this collection also tackles other instances of historical erasure, touching on the story of Sappho and Hatshepsut.
On my first reading of this collection I was not enthralled with the story, as I knew nothing about the topics it confronts. However, upon further reading (and a bit of research), the stories told in these poems comes to life.
Absolutely beautiful. And the cover glows in the dark, how cool (and ironic) is that?!
On my first reading of this collection I was not enthralled with the story, as I knew nothing about the topics it confronts. However, upon further reading (and a bit of research), the stories told in these poems comes to life.
Absolutely beautiful. And the cover glows in the dark, how cool (and ironic) is that?!
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews